2000
#124,872
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 127
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Noppe
A surname denoting someone from the former province of Noppes in Italy.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 138 Americans carry the last name Noppe. That puts it at #142,049 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,483,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Noppe surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
138
1 in 2,483,727
Census rank
#142,049
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
120
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 120 bearers of the surname Noppe in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142049th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Noppe, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Noppe
The surname NOPPE originated in the Low Countries, specifically in the regions of modern-day Belgium and the Netherlands, during the medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Middle Dutch word "noppe," which means "nap" or "downy surface," and may have referred to the occupation of a cloth worker or weaver.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name NOPPE can be found in a 14th-century document from the city of Ghent, where a certain Jan de Noppe was mentioned as a citizen. Additionally, the surname appears in various medieval records and manuscripts from the region, including the Boudelo Codex from the late 13th century.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name NOPPE gained prominence in the textile-producing cities of Flanders, such as Bruges and Antwerp. Notable individuals bearing this surname include Pieter Noppe (1570-1628), a renowned Flemish painter known for his religious works and portraiture.
As the Low Countries experienced significant emigration during the 17th and 18th centuries, the surname NOPPE spread to other parts of Europe and beyond. In the Netherlands, the name can be traced back to the village of Noppedorf, which may have been named after an early settler with the NOPPE surname.
One of the most prominent figures in history with the NOPPE surname was Adriaan Noppe (1766-1828), a Dutch naval officer and explorer who served in the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Indonesia) and was responsible for mapping several islands in the region.
Other notable individuals with the NOPPE surname include Johann Noppe (1810-1881), a German architect and urban planner who designed several iconic buildings in Berlin, and Louis Noppe (1854-1923), a Belgian writer and poet known for his works in the Flemish language.
In more recent times, the NOPPE surname has been found in various parts of the world, including North America and Australia, reflecting the global diaspora of people from the Low Countries and their descendants.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Noppe
Among Census respondents with the surname Noppe, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Noppe bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Noppe surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.3% · 112
- Two or more races4.2% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Noppe
Noppe appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#133,048
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 127
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,176 places
2020
#142,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
-7 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 9,001 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #124,872 | 127 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #133,048 | 127 | 0.04 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 8,176 places |
| 2020 | #142,049 | 120 | 0.04 | -7 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 9,001 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Noppe surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #133,048 | #142,049 | -6.8% |
| Count | 127 | 120 | -5.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Noppe bearers went from 127 to 120 (-5.5% change). The surname moved down 9,001 positions in the national ranking, going from #133,048 to #142,049.
FAQ
Noppe surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Noppe?
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the surname Noppe. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,483,727 residents.
How common is Noppe?
Noppe ranks #142,049 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 120 people with the surname Noppe. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (138), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Noppe.
Has Noppe become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Noppe went from 127 recorded bearers to 120. That is a decrease of 7 (-5.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #133,048 to #142,049.
What does the Census say about the background of Noppe?
Among Census respondents with the surname Noppe, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (2.5%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Noppe in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.3% (112 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Noppe appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.3%), Two or More Races (4.2%), Hispanic (2.5%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Noppe (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Noppe mean?
A surname denoting someone from the former province of Noppes in Italy. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Noppe (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Noppe?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.